USING RESEARCH TO GUIDE CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE DRUG-ABUSE PREVENTION

Several ways in which research can be an important tool in creating cu lturally appropriate prevention programs are suggested. To illustrate cultural variability, we present data from a study of 5th-grade Africa n-American and European-American students. These data describe rates o f early initiation, levels of exposure to identified risk factors, and degree to which identified risk factors predict substances initiated. Results indicate that European-American Ss have higher rates of tobac co and alcohol initiation, that the same risk factors predict the vari ety of substances initiated for African-American and European-American Ss, and that several differences exist in the level of exposure to ri sk factors between the 2 groups. Implications of the findings for deve loping culturally appropriate drug abuse prevention are discussed.